Choose the Right Synonym for toothsome

palatable, appetizing, savory, tasty, toothsome mean agreeable or pleasant especially to the sense of taste. palatable often applies to something that is found to be merely agreeable.
butterflies that birds find palatableappetizing suggests a whetting of the appetite and applies to aroma and appearance as well as taste.
appetizing hors d'oeuvres savory applies to both taste and aroma and suggests piquancy and often spiciness.
dumplings with savory fillings tasty implies a pronounced taste.
a tart and tasty pie toothsome stresses the notion of agreeableness and sometimes implies tenderness or daintiness.
an enticing array of toothsome desserts

Did You Know?

One meaning of tooth is "a fondness or taste for something specified." Toothsome comes from this definition of tooth plus the suffix -some, meaning "characterized by." Although toothsome was at first used to describe general attractiveness, it quickly developed a second sense that was specific to the sense of taste (perhaps because from as far back as Chaucer’s time, tooth could also refer specifically to eating and the sense of taste). In addition, toothsome is now showing signs of acquiring a third sense, toothy (as in "a toothsome grin"), but this sense is not yet established enough to qualify for dictionary entry.

Examples of toothsome in a Sentence

the movie star and his supermodel girlfriend are considered the most toothsome couple in Hollywood

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'toothsome.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.